


Love Is Not Just a Feeling

by Glacial_guillotine



Category: The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Hurt Alec Lightwood, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapped, OC, Original Character(s), Protective Isabelle Lightwood, Protective Magnus Bane, Revenge, Squad, Trapped
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-08 18:18:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14111241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glacial_guillotine/pseuds/Glacial_guillotine
Summary: “The door slammed shut with a finality that settled into their bones. Quiet filled the room and Alec's eyes raised to look at those staring at what he was just given.Alec's lips parted as he put the pieces together. He had to choose?“The squad gets captured and it’s really not fun for anybody





	1. Chapter 1

———

They were trapped. Undeniably, completely trapped. Wrists were rubbed raw and spirits were low between the friends sharing a stuffy cell. It was all very compact with four Shadowhunters, one warlock and one vampire sharing one room. It had been..how long since they'd been captured? Three days? 

Alec's stomach rumbled and he thought of the warm, gooey chocolate chip muffin he had eaten the morning of their capture. What he would give for just a bite... or at least a nourishment rune.

They had exhausted all possible means of escape. Magnus' cuffs were some kind of special metal that substantially restricted his ability to dip into his metaphorical well of magic and, while Simon was strong, he couldn't seem to get enough leverage to break free. 

Despite the lack of food, their capturers had been kind enough to leave water for them in the room. In addition, they were all relatively unharmed, which seemed odd to Alec. If they wanted something, information or revenge, they'd have tried to get it by now. He was stumped. He had voiced his concerns in what he suspected was late afternoon. The general response was, 'why worry about something that might not even happen.' It was denial, and Alec wasn't having it. 

"Alexander, darling, I love you, but I need my beauty sleep. It'll be okay." Alec had quieted down after that. He wished he hadn't. 

After three long days of waiting, the metal door slowly creaked open. They all held their breath in anticipation. What came through the door was a man in is late twenties, dark hair and pale skin to match the prison's grimy walls. Two fangs poked out from under his upper lip as his cheeks turned up into a grin. 

Simon stole a quick glance at Clary and their eyes met. A vampire? 

There was only a moment of silence before Jace was yanking on his cuffs, shouting curses and working himself into a rage. 

"What the fuck, you fucking piece of shit! What makes you think you have the right to lock us up!" Jace practically had steam exploding from his ears. 

Alec tried a more methodical approach. "Let us go before my sister and the rest of the Clave come knocking down your doors." 

The vampire spoke, his voice clear and booming. It was so in contrast with the hoarse, dehydrated speech Alec had been hearing for the last few days. "I'm sure you all have questions. However, you're not in any position to make demands or threats...do you understand?" 

There was only silence and harsh breathing throughout the cell. When Alec catches Jace moving his jaw around, he clenches his fist and is about to say something before-

"Fuck you." Jace states before spitting at the unnamed vampire. In a matter of milliseconds, the Man is across the room and has a hold of Jace's jaw. He squeezes hard, and Jace unsuccessfully tries to move against the wall in an effort to shake the hand. A leg is kicked up, and chains rattle. The Man catches Jace's leg before it can even get near him and the Shadowhunter is thrown to the side. 

"Jace!" Clary yells as the Shadowhunter tries to orient himself. 

His voice reverberates around the room as he bellows, "DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" 

There are reluctant nods from some of them and the others just stare in passive aggressive silence. 

"Good." The Man smooths his blazer and clears his throat. "My name is Clarence Foster. Three years ago, my family, my ..many children..." his eyes turned hard as they landed on Alec. "Were brutally slain in a raid that was sanctioned by the New York Institute. The institute ran by your parents." 

'Oh, shit. Oh shit, this wasn't good..'

"I would have been sixteen, seventeen. I don't know anything about it. I'm sorry." He tried to put as much feeling into the words as possible, but as he saw the hatred in Clarence's steely grey eyes, his stomach sank. 

"Pity, for you and your friends, Lightwood." Clarence strode around the cell until he was near the door. Two men appeared and handed something to the vampire. "Pay back is..how do you New Yorkers say it? A bitch." They realized what the thing in his hands was just as he threw it to Alec. A gas mask. 

The door slammed shut with a finality that settled into their bones. Quiet filled the room and Alec's eyes raised to look at those staring at what he was just given.

Alec's lips parted as he put the pieces together. He had to choose? It couldn't be happening..there had to be some other way out! He had to get out!

His fingers trembled as he chucked the mask away from him. His arms shook as he raised them behind his head to try to open his airway. Air seemed to be in short supply and it felt like the walls were pulsing, alive and pressing on him. He choked as a pain filled his chest. 

"Alec! Listen, man, it's okay!" Simon's words did nothing to ease the ache in his ribs but it did snap him back to the situation at hand. How were they going to pick who survived this? 

"I'm hundreds of years old, I've had my time on Earth." 

"Magnus, you can't say that. Alec needs you, I'm already dead, it won't be that diff-"

"If that's what we're going by, I don't deserve to even be here. Valentine killed me, what's dead should stay dead.." 

"Stop!" Alec shook his head as his breathing got harsher. It was almost a whistle. "Just stop! We can find a way, it-" he twisted and threw a punch into the wall before yelling. "Damn it!"

"Alec, who knows how long we have to decide." Clary spoke softly. "I think it's better if we choose in case..." 

No one speaks. They had been trying to get out for days and now they presumably had just a short while to escape. They were probably being monitored, weak from lack of food and they didn't even know where they were. 

"I can't do this." Alec's pleading eyes met Magnus' glamoured ones. "Please.."

Magnus wanted to blow up the cell. His skin practically itched for his magic to come back to him. His boyfriend was suffering and there was nothing he could do to help.


	2. Chapter 2

Magnus wanted to blow up the cell. His skin practically itched for his magic to come back to him. His boyfriend was suffering and there was nothing he could do to help. 

—-  
"Do you remember when you told me relationships take effort?" A nod from Alec. "Maybe we just need some more effort in a situation like this. Think. I know we can think of something." 

Slowly, piece by agonizing piece, something did form at the back of Alec's mind. There was so much power in the room they were in. A daylighter that possessed killer strength coupled with a prince of hell. A few Shadowhunters with angel blood thrown in. 

Alec hadn't even realized his breathing returned to normal as words came rushing out of him. It was like a switch flipped in his brain. 

"Mags, is there anyway we could get you more strength? And if so, do you.. do you think you could break out?" Hope shined in Alec's large blue eyes and Magnus couldn't tell him no. After all, anything was possible with Clary Fray and Jace Wayland involved. 

"I can certainly try." 

Alec snapped his head around around to look at Clary. It took him a second to see the look of fear deeply rooted in her face. If he hadn't of been so observant he would have easily missed it. 

"Can you think of any rune that has to do with endurance? Something stronger than the strength rune?" 

"It's weird you should mention it." Clary threw a glance at Jace and coughed nervously. "We were, ah, fooling around with some new endurance runes the other day and-"

Simon made a face and a noise like gagging. "Fray! We don't want to hear about your guys' sex life!"

Clary ignored Simon and added, "Jace and I still have it on, I think."

Magnus raised an eyebrow. "You think?" 

Jace's mouth sarcastically turned up in the corner and he crossed his arms. "We haven't really had the privacy to look." 

Simon screamed in horror and Clary threw an unimpressed glare in Jace's direction. Alec rolled his eyes. 

"Here's what we're going to do. Jace, activate Clary's rune, as well as your own, both of you give strength to Magnus." Now the awkward part. "Simon, you need to push harder than you've ever pushed before." 

"I've read enough vampire love novels to know how this goes." Simon gave Alec an odd smile that left Alec wondering what he had just meant by that.

—


End file.
